Highlights/toxic

Huge algae blooms have for years created a toxic slime on one of the Great Lakes at the heart of North America. It can make people sick, kill fish and other aquatic life and make drinking water unsafe for human…»

Research at the University of Saskatchewan has linked the use of two kinds of widely-used insecticides to serious health issues in songbirds. Scientists found that imidacloprid (neonicotinoid) and chlorpyrifos (organophosphate) are directly toxic to songbirds that eat seeds. Tests on…»

It is featured in virtually every tourist promotion photo of the Canadian capital, but Ottawa’s downtown section of the Rideau Canal has a secret. Testing has revealed that the canal is contaminated with toxic waste. It now joins a list…»

Canadian research has determined that the fluids produced by hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas can harm rainbow trout even when greatly diluted. Fracking requires large quantities of water and chemicals which are toxic. University of Alberta researchers Dan Alessi…»

Unusually warm Pacific Ocean temperatures contributed to a massive bloom of toxic algae off North America’s west coast last year, says a recent study. Nicknamed “the blob,” the bloom closed important fisheries and disrupted marine life including seabirds and sea…»

A Government program is not working as it should to protect consumers from harmful or prohibited chemicals in cosmetics, according to a federal audit. Environment commissioner Julie Gelfand found that the government health department does not regularly test cosmetics, companies…»

Around the world thousands of tons of munitions lie rusting on the ocean floor. They consist of both explosives and chemical weapons. As the metal rusts away, the toxic chemicals are exposed causing an environmental wasteland around them. Terrence Long…»

Canada’s Pacific coast port city of Vancouver is warning residents about a toxic bunker fuel spill in the city’s English Bay and telling people not to touch the oil.The fuel spill occurred Wednesday night (April 8). Clean-up efforts are underway…»